ShalomLife hangs out with the boys of Justus

On Saturday night, Shalom Life hit up El Mocambo on Spadina to check out the eclectic band of brothers best known as “Justus”. The local Toronto rock band performed during the city’s incredible Nuit Blanche festival, and they have already won a contest, and been nominated for the award of “Best Live Act” at the Toronto Independent Music Awards. They are scheduled to play Nuit Blanche again this year, and their continued popularity in the Toronto rock scene has created a loyal following.

Their lyrics are hopeful, their talent is raw, and most of all their passion transcends from stage to listener. In a dim lit room with my heels stuck to the floor, I take in what is probably the second rock show I’ve ever been to, and I’m enjoying it.

The first discernable feature of this band is the mosaic of characters.

There is a Mixed (Portuguese and Irish) lead vocalist who carries the look of a young Adam Levine, but with the vocal talent and attitude of a bonafied rocker. There is a Portuguese guitarist who plays like his heart is in the strings. There is an Egyptian bassist who smiles while he “slaps the bass”. And there is an Ashkenazi Jewish drummer who bangs them like a proud tribal warrior.

Local talent in Toronto continues to grow, and the band provides its audience with a visual representation of the city’s most common characteristic: Multiculturalism.

As Ari Rabinovitch, the drummer says, “The idea of muliculturalism is visible right here in this band. You come here and you find that all the politics are put aside, because everyone is just a human being, and you have four people who come from these different backgrounds who just want to make music together.”

Rabinovitch had to go through three auditions before finally landing a spot as the fourth member of the band.

Karim Dawood, the bassist says, “He was good but he was very metal. At first I didn’t know if we clicked and I thought he was arrogant [laughs].”

The drummer remained persistent, and after receiving some constructive criticism while being shut down twice, the third time was the charm.

He says, “Every demo that I heard that I liked, I would go in and do the audition, and I always got called back. All these bands really wanted me but they didn’t really give me a chance to show my skills. But when I went to the Justus audition, I came in and they were the only band that said no to me first.”

Rabinovitch uploaded Youtube videos showcasing his talent, and as Tim Regan (lead vocalist) says, “He finally stepped it up!” The band was sold after seeing the videos, and the determined drummer became the final piece to complete the band.

And now for a little Q&A. If there is one thing I’ve learned from this: interviewing four rollicking rockers simultaneously, ends up in a lot of laughter, and a lot of digressing.

What is the meaning behind the name?

KD: Well basically what happened was, 10 years ago Danny (Lead guitarist) and I got together and everybody would always ask us who was in the band, and we said “Just us”. We were just joking about the “Just us” thing but then we made it into one word, and we thought it sounded cool.

Rabinovitch and Regan both had backgrounds in metal before “Justus”, why did you want to be in a band that wasn’t metal?

Danny J Ricardo (lead guitarist): Why don’t you just tell her you wanted a future?

[Everyone erupts in laughter]

How does a band collaborate when you have four different people who come from various backgrounds? Talk to me about the writing process.

TR: Composition in this band is a process. When I say process I mean it is not a line from a to b. It is a meandering whirlpool of input from different people, and it can sometimes get hectic and sometimes be extremely smooth. Sometimes, I’ll write the whole thing and they will completely love it. Other times, we can spend three months fighting over three words.

What about themes in your music?

AR: Issues with how people work together in relationships, business, politics.

TR: I don’t write lyrics to just say something, I write them to mean something.

What does the future look like? Are you waiting to grow up?

DJR: The thing about the music industry right now is that they like to put age limits to things. What people don’t understand about music and artists, there really is no age. You’re going to play music your whole life. I know a lot of people put this criteria on their life where if they don’t make it, they have to quit and have a family, and get a 9-5 job. An artist is something that develops over decades, you don’t stop playing. There’s really no age to music.

AR: We have our whole lives to grow up, and we only have a short window of time to make this happen.

The band’s EP is set to release by later this Fall. They have been working at Mushroom Studios with Joel Kazmi who has worked with the likes of Sloan and Sum41. It will feature five of their songs, and Rabinovitch describes their sound as, “Modern hard rock with influences of punk, and a dash of metal.”

For more updates about upcoming shows and EP release dates check out their Facebook Fan page at: http://www.facebook.com/onejustus